By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, JULY 20, 2024: UNION Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Amit Shah, chaired 7th Apex Level Meeting of Narco-Coordination Center (NCORD) in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi yesterday. On this occasion, Home Minister launched National Narcotics Helpline 'MANAS' (Madak Padarth Nishedh Asuchna Kendra) and virtually inaugurated Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Zonal Office at Srinagar. Amit Shah also released NCB 'Annual Report 2023' and Compendium on 'Nasha Mukt Bharat'.

In his address during the meeting, Amit Shah said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the fight against drugs is being carried out in a very serious manner and we have been successful in taking it forward as a campaign. He said that the real fight has begun now because now we are at a crucial juncture in this fight. Shah said that unless every citizen of the country below the age of 35 does not pledge to fight this battle and every citizen above the age of 35 does not pledge to guide them, we cannot win this battle. He added that even the governments cannot win this battle, rather there should be an approach to take this battle to the 130-crore people of the country.

Union Home Minister said that Prime Minister Modi has set a target to make India first in every field by 2047, which is possible only by keeping the younger generation away from the scourge of drugs. He said that this fight against drugs is very important and it needs to be fought with seriousness and priority. He said that if we do not give top priority to this fight, we will not be able to win it. Shah said that Prime Minister Modi's vision of a drug-free India is a huge challenge and a resolution. He said that we have now become aware and at this critical juncture if we fight together bravely, then we can win this fight.

Amit Shah said that in the last 5 years, the Modi Government has tried to fight this battle on the basis of 'Whole of Government Approach' and on the three pillars - Structural, Institutional and Informational Reforms. He said that from the year 2004 to 2023, one lakh 52 thousand kg of drugs worth Rs 5,933 crore were seized, while in the ten years from 2014 to 2024, this quantity increased to 5,43,000 kg, which is worth more than Rs 22,000 crore. Shah said that due to the efforts of the Modi Government, many drug networks have been successfully dismantled.

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that the biggest disadvantage of drugs is that it destroys our future generations and the addicts make their entire family suffer from extreme despair and inferiority complex. He said that a new danger has emerged now that this entire business is getting linked with narco terror and the money coming from drugs is emerging as the most serious threat to the security of the country. Shah said due to the drug trade, other channels of economic transactions meant to weaken our economy have also been strengthened. Many such organizations have been formed which are getting involved not only in drug trade but also in illegal hawala dealings and tax evasion. He said that drug smuggling has now become a multi-layered crime which we need to deal with robustly and stringently.

Amit Shah said that all agencies, especially the state police, not only should aim to catch those who use drugs but also to catch those involved in its trade and dismantle the entire network. He said that for this, there is a need to emphasize on 'Top to Bottom' and 'Bottom to Top' probe. He said that if a stock of drugs is caught on the country's border, there is a need to investigate it and dismantle the entire network behind it. Home Minister said that Gujarat has done a very good job of investigating many big drug cases with a 'Top to Bottom' and 'Bottom to Top' approach. He said that the problem of synthetic drugs is now coming to the fore in India as well and recently many illegal laboratories have been caught. He said that all the state investigation and other agencies should take detailed information about this from the NCB and work to stop such activities in their respective states. Shah said that our goal should be that neither will we allow even a single gram of drugs to enter India from anywhere nor will we allow India's borders to be used in any way for drug trade. He said that drugs should be taken seriously wherever they come from or wherever they go and unless the whole world fights together, we cannot win this battle.

Amit Shah said that he has put a lot of emphasis on the implementation of NCORD since 2014 and it helped in providing encouraging results. He said that unless the district level NCORD works, these battles will not be fought successfully. He emphasized that the district level NCORDs should not only be a forum for discussion but also decision and review. He said the district should set its own goals and review them. He said that NCORD meetings should be outcome-based and result-oriented. Shah said that setting a fixed target, reviewing it, and strategizing according to the local situation should be an important part of it. He also asked all agencies to increase the use of PITNDPS. The Home Minister said that earlier the motto of our agencies was 'Need to Know', but now we should move towards 'Duty to Share' and this major change will have to be adopted by all agencies. Shah said that there should be a ruthless approach towards supply of drugs, a strategic approach towards demand reduction and a humane approach towards harm reduction. He said that all three are different but unless they do this they will not be successful.

The Union Home Minister said that yesterday the MANAS portal has also been launched and along with it many other initiatives have also been taken which will have to reach every unit of the states and districts. He said states should spend a part of their budget on narcotics forensics. He said, soon, the government is going to provide kits for primary testing of narcotics at a cheaper rate, which will make filing of cases much easier. Shah said that the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has taken up the Nasha Mukt Bharat campaign well and all religious, youth and Rotary organisations should join it. Amit Shah said that we have a long way to go in this fight against drugs and now we have to increase its speed and scope. He said that we should leave no stone unturned to increase the speed and to increase the comprehensiveness, we have to take many colleagues along.

The Zonal office at Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir will focus towards curbing drug trafficking through the northwestern border of India. NCB now has 30 zonal offices and 7 regional offices. The Annual Report-2023 of NCB highlights the efforts and accomplishments of NCB/all other agencies in its ongoing war against Drug Trafficking and Drug abuse. It contains the data for seizures done by all agencies in recent years, the latest trends on drug trafficking, action under Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (PITNDPS), financial investigation including action under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) etc. The MANAS (Madak Padarth Nishedh Asuchna Kendra) will have a toll-free number 1933, a web portal, a mobile App and Umang App so that citizens can connect with NCB round-the-clock with anonymity to share information on drug peddling /trafficking or consult related to their issues like drug abuse, de-addiction and rehabilitation.

Illicit cultivation is one big menace to be tackled, and, NCB along with BISAG-N has developed a web portal and mobile app “MAPDRUGS'' to curb illegal cultivation and provide accurate GIS information so that such illicit cultivation can be destroyed by the concerned agencies.

All Stakeholders - all ministries, departments, State government and heads of all agencies, working towards Nasha Mukt Bharat attended the meeting. Senior Central Government functionaries including the Union Home Secretary, Revenue Secretary, Secretary Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment (MoSJ&E), Director of the Intelligence Bureau and Director General of NCB, participated in the meeting. Chief Secretaries, DGsP, and Anti-Narcotics Task Force Heads of all states and union territories participated in the meeting virtually. Senior representatives of NCB, DRI, ED, BSF, SSB, CRPF, CISF, RPF, Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard, MoSJ&E, etc. also attended the meeting.